OUR VOLUNTEER

Kitzzy Aviles

Instructional Designer | Customer Education Specialist | Technical Trainer | Leader Rumie Learning Designer

Passionate About: education, LEGO, leadership, mentoring, public speaking

Tell us a little bit about what prompted you to volunteer as a Learning Designer.

I'm always on the lookout for new ways that I can use my skills to empower others to unlock their full potential through education, mentoring, and coaching. At the time when I found Rumie, I had been laid off twice in six months due to the pandemic and was looking for productive ways to fill my time while I searched for a job. Rumie was a great way to keep my skills sharp, build new skills, and be part of a community of like-minded educators. I love being productive in such an important way by supporting Rumie's mission of making learning as accessible as social media.

Tell us about your experience on the Rumie Learning Design Team team so far.

Being part of the Rumie Learning Design team has been an incredible experience that has forced me to rethink what education can be today for a social media driven generation. I love being part of a supporting community that truly wants to create great learning content and help each other grow. I've enjoyed experimenting with new types of learning content, sharing my expertise with those trying to break into the instructional design field, and learning new skills from my teammates with more or different experience than mine.

What are some of the skills you have been able to develop through your Rumie experience?

The main skill I've continued to develop is how to be concise and to the point. Being able to break down complex concepts into Byte-sized chunks and get the point across in just a few sentences is a great skill for any educator to develop, but even more important now that people's attention spans is mere seconds. As someone who started my career in Academia, writing in a more casual tone has been a welcomed challenge and a skill that has helped me at work where we're trying to do the same. I've also enjoyed experimenting with using and creating new media types to support the learning content, such GIFs, memes, and bitmojis. These are all great ways to make the content more personal and relatable to our audience.

What are your hopes for your continued involvement with Rumie? How does it connect to your personal goals?

I hope to continue to volunteer with Rumie for many years in an increasing capacity to continue to fuel my passion for education, mentorship, and leadership. This aligns with my personal goals of being a lifelong learner and empowering others to unlock their full potential. Working on Rumie bytes it's the perfect way to have a creative outlet outside of work where I can also use my expertise to help others grow.

Who do you think the Rumie Learning Design team volunteer experience is a good fit for?

Anyone can benefit from being a Rumie volunteer if you have a growth mindset for yourself and others. If you have some writing experience and can view feedback as a way to grow your skills and make the best learning content possible, you will thrive as part of the Rumie Learning Design team. Volunteering with Rumie is great opportunity if you want to break into the field of instructional design or elearning and want build a portfolio. It's also a great fit if you have been in the field for years, want to refresh your skills, learn new ones, and share your expertise with others.

Anything else you’d like to add/advice you’d share?

Go for it! You will not regret being part of the Rumie Learning Design team. Have an open mind and willingness to try new things. You may struggle a bit at first, as you get used to the Byte format, but you are not alone. You will have an entire community of volunteers to help you, but is up to you to ask. Don't be afraid to engage with others through slack or click up whenever you need help or want to recognize someone else's great work. I look forward to working with you soon!